Liberal and progressive Christians are asking Wal-Mart to drop Left Behind: Eternal Forces because of it’s “convert or die” message.
The game, inspired by a series of Christian novels by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins, encourages gamers to convert non-Christians or gun them down as sinners in “a classic battle between good and evil.”
“It’s an incredibly violent video game,” said Clark Stevens co-director of the Campaign to Defend the Constitution. “Sure, there is no blood. (The dead just fade off the screen.) But you are mowing down your enemy with a gun. It pushes a message of religious intolerance. You can either play for the ‘good side’ by trying to convert nonbelievers to your side or join the Antichrist.”
Unbelievably enough, the Antichrist team includes fictional rock stars and Muslims while the righteous include gospel singers, missionaries, healers, and medics. When asked about the Muslims in the game, Left Behind Games’ president, Jeffrey Frichner noted that “Muslims are not believers in Jesus Christ” — and thus can’t be on Christ’s side in the game. That is so obvious.”
If you’re thinking “Antichrist team…cool!” think again. Players who choose this side have no chance of winning.
Wal-Mart has stated that it has no plans to pull the game despite the fact that they regularly ban or alter secular games and music with violent or prejudiced themes. Now, I’m not going to get into a whole thing about hypocrisy and religious intolerance here – but this seems like some seriously backwards bullshit.
However, I have not personally played the game so in the interest of fairness, here is a statement on the controversy from the president of Left Behind Games.
